WARREN, Mich. – After suffering three-straight losses last weekend, the No. 21 Macomb Men's Basketball team (6-6) will look to bounce back this Saturday (Dec. 20) as they travel to the Ohio/West Virginia border for a battle with Hocking College. 
 
Tip-off in Nelsonville is set for 3 p.m. following the women's 1 p.m. contest between the Hawks and Monarchs.
 
SCOUTING HOCKING: The Hawks are 4-8 overall and 1-4 in OCCAC play and most recently defeated Owens Community College, 94-81, on Saturday in Perrysburg. Tariq Johnson led Hocking with 29 points and eight rebounds while Zion Rhoades tallied 24 points and seven rebounds in 36 minutes off the bench. 
 
This season, Johnson leads the Hawks in scoring with 18.0 points per game and Rhoades averages a team-high 8.2 rebounds per contest along with 14.8 points per night. Another player to watch is Sean Harmon, who's averaging 11.9 points per game. 
 
Hocking is led by first-year head coach Ben Patrick. 
 
A LOOK AT MACOMB: Playing shorthanded last weekend, Macomb saw their four-game winning streak snapped with three straight losses at the William R. Bear/Diamond Bros. Insurance Tournament in Illinois. 
 
The Monarchs opened the tournament last Friday with a 79-62 loss to NJCAA DI No. 15 Moberly Area Community College. Later that night, a last second bucket by Sauk Valley Community College downed the Monarchs in a 60-58 decision. The tournament concluded with the Monarchs falling in another close contest after playing without a trio of starters who combine for an average of 42 points per game.
 
Despite the losses, the Monarchs remained in the top 25 coming in at No. 21 in this week's rankings.
 
Malachi Irving continues to lead the offense with 14.5 points per game, while Lajuan Holloway and Caron Williams follow closely at 13.8 and 13.4 points per game, respectively.
 
Donald Wilburn rounds out the Monarchs' double-digit scorers at an even 12.0 points per contest.
 
On the glass, Hocking transfer Tabari Howard has been a consistent presence with a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game. 
 
LAST MEETING: Four starters reached double-figures as the then No. 4 Monarchs ran past Hocking, 95-60, at the Sports & Expo Center in Warren on Dec. 17, 2024. 
 
Josh Hines (Wisconsin-Green Bay) led the way with a 25 point, 12 rebound double-double. Jalen Jenkins (Wayne State) and Jotham Nweke (Wayne State) had 17 points each. DaMaryon Fishburn (Cornell) chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE: Hocking will provide a live video stream for Saturday's contest here.

UP NEXT: The Monarchs will take a break for the holidays and will return to action Jan. 2 at the SC4 Skippers New Years Classic where they'll take on Kalamazoo Valley Community College at 4 p.m. The following day, the Monarchs will take on Bay College, a team receiving votes in the latest NJCAA rankings.